Fighting for Our Friends
by KaidaEkkoKeichiDaichi
Summary: Two girls get caught up in the fight against Shadows, and find friendship and love among the people who they choose to protect and fight beside. Will they be able to keep those they care about from falling to the nefarious plans of the Shadows? Or will they fail and lose it all? Follows both the Persona Story line and the P3P story line combined, sorta :P
1. Prologue

It was a cool day. The thugs watched quietly as two girls walked past. One was blonde, the other brunette. They both wore plain jeans and while the brunette wore a dark purple double-breasted jacket, and a pair of sneakers, the blonde wore a black hoodie with knee high boots. The brunette seemed like the quiet type, she watched them cautiously, while the blonde seemed oblivious.  
"Tch." A thug lady glared at them. The two just ignored them.  
"Kai, stay there." The brunette indicated that the other girl stay there. She wandered away quietly. The blonde continued to stare aimlessly at random people, receiving dark looks from the thugs in the vicinity.  
"Tch, what are you staring at?" A punk glared at the blonde, who stared quietly at them.  
"Clearly, I must be looking at you." The blonde, 'Kai', responded in a matter of factually tone.  
A tall guy sitting quietly in a corner, away from the rest, looked up and stared quietly. Hopefully this girl was smart enough to get out while she could.  
The punk, along with a few others circled her. "You're not that bright are ya?"  
The girl seemed to be oblivious to the danger she was in. She quietly stared back.  
The punk cracked his knuckles. A smirk touched the girl's lips.  
"What? Ya think ya can take all of us on? I'm gonna kick you're sorry butt!"  
"You can certainly try, though you may need more friends."  
"Are you stupid?" The tall guy stood up and shouted. He wore a maroon pea-coat with black pants, and a brown beanie on his head. The girl turned her face back and looked at him, her stance still relaxed, although a curious expression now took over her face.  
"Don't look away!" The punk's fist flew at her head. She moved at the last second, dropping down to the ground and swinging her leg at her attacker. It was now noticeable that her boots were steel tipped, and made a horrible crunching sound as her foot connected with her attacker's knee. She twisted her body with practiced grace and brought her second foot up, which made dull thud as it struck the ribs of the punk, briefly lifting him off the ground and throwing him back a few feet, and in the same motion she pushed away from the ground with her hands. A loud gun shot could be heard. Everything seemed to move slowly for the guy, as she slowly returned to the stance she had before the fight started. A second punk made to attack her from behind, her elbow connecting with his ribs, audibly cracking them. Another punk joined the fray and she dodged, allowing the new attacker's fist to hit the one she had just elbowed, square in the face. He made to attack her again, and she brought her knee up, connecting with the guy's groin. The guy in the shadows winced sympathetically. The others began to back away. "The hell? She fights like a bloody demon!" There was the sound of a gun cocking again. A "thwump" and the sound of a body hitting the ground. Turning they all saw the brunette, who had reappeared behind the gunner and had struck a pressure point, causing the guy to lose consciousness.  
"I can't leave you alone for one minute, without you starting some fight." The brunette shook her head.  
The blonde gave a huge grin and shrugged, "You know it."  
The tall teen stared in partial disbelief, while the other part of him, was impressed by the level of skill displayed. That was when he noticed the patch of blood now growing on the blonde's leg.  
"Hey! You're bleeding!"  
The blonde looked back at him, "I forgot you were there." She looked down at her leg.  
The brunette sighed. She tore some material off the shirt of one of the thugs, who were lying on the ground, groaning about something that was broken. She took the long strip and wrapped it tightly around the blonde's bleeding wound. "We should go have that checked before you bleed to death."  
"Na, its just a scratch. I won't die!" The blonde shrugged. "Ah well, laters beanie guy!"  
The two girls left. The blonde's limp was barely noticeable. The guy gave a small "tch" and sat back down. Weird girl.

* * *

_Yo! this is my first story that I've bothered to upload  
__don't shoot if its bad, but i don't mind checking out thoughts and whatnot  
__hopefully i'll remember to upload regularly and stuff xD, so yeah... enjoy i guess? if you don't like it... don't read it?_


	2. Chapter 1

_**25/4/2009**_  
**Class 2-F**  
"Alright everyone, settle down. We have another new transfer student." Ms. Toriumi called out to her class. "Please, introduce yourself."  
The blonde smiled warmly to the teacher then turned to face the class, bowing enthusiastically. "Hi! I'm Kaida Matsumoto. It's nice to meet you all."  
Her voice was light and playful, a faint accent giving her words an exotic feel. Her hair was short, spiky, blonde and had a "punk" feel to it. She wore her uniform with a limp bow, and had knee length boots that sported many buckles. She had a few piercings on her ears, and large brown eyes that twinkled with mischief.  
"Now, you can sit over there." Ms. Toriumi pointed to a seat that was vacant next to a bored looking boy with blue hair and storm gray eyes.  
"Uh, Ms. Toriumi? That spots taken." A boy with a baseball cap and a goatee said, putting his hand up. "He's just playing hookey."  
"Which means he's not here. So its free to be used." Kaida smirked slightly, and made her way to the vacant seat.  
There was a mild limp, but it was easily mistaken for slight bounce as she half skipped to the seat. She sat down, turned and smiled to him.  
"Hey, what's your name?" She whispered over to him.  
The boy looked over at her, "Minato Arisato."  
"Mind if I call you Minato-kun?" She smiled. "You can call me Kaida-chan if you want."  
"Sure."

* * *

**Class 2-E**  
"We have a new transfer student joining our class." Mr Ekoda pointed to a brunette standing quietly next to him. "Introduce yourself."  
The brunette's brown eyes flickered towards him in a lazy fashion, then back to the class. "Hello, My name is Ekko Shiratake. Nice to meet you."  
Her voice reflected her lazy and disinterested stance, and her hand sub-consciously pulled on a brunette bang that hung over one of her eyes. Her long brown hair was tied back low down, and her uniform was immaculate. Her relaxed stance exuded confidence and she wore a cute black hat. On each ear was a different earring, one had a dangling cross, the other just had a stud.  
Whispers spread through the room as a few guys commented on how she was "Cute", but were quickly silenced by a glare from Mr. Ekoda.  
"Thank you, now please take a seat over there." Mr Ekoda pointed to a seat in front of a teal green haired girl. Ekko nodded and walked calmly to the seat, sitting quietly and looking up to face the teacher for her lesson.

* * *

**Later that day**  
"Yo, Kai."  
The blonde looked up from her desk. "Ko-chan?"  
The brunette looked down at the blonde. "Ready to go?"  
"Yup, just a minute." The blonde started grabbing her stuff, and winced as she stood too quickly.  
"You alright?"  
"Yup, its just-"  
"Hey! New girl!" Both girls looked around to see a guy with a goatee and a baseball cap waving enthusiastically at them followed by a girl with a pink cardigan and a blue haired guy.  
"Tch. She has a name you know." The girl with lighter brown hair and the pink cardigan on, glared at the boy with the goatee.  
"Oh right, uh... Kaida-chan right?"  
Kaida nodded. "Yeah, who's asking?"  
"My name is Junpei Iori." He smiled proudly.  
"And I'm Yukari Takeba. Who's you're friend?" The girl pointed at Ekko.  
"Ekko Shiratake." Ekko gave a small nod as she sized up the three. She got the impression that the blue haired guy was very different simply from the way he carried himself. "You?"  
"Oh that's Minato-kun." Kaida said as she made to walk forward. She winced again. "Well that's not good."  
Ekko looked over at Kaida, then crouched down and lifted the edge of the girl's skirt without warning.  
"Whoa!"Junpei and Minato both looked away in surprise.  
"You can't just do that!" Yukari snapped.  
Ekko glared at Yukari. "She's got shorts on." She pointed at a pair of black shorts now visible above the blood soaked bandages. "What did you do?"  
Kaida shrugged. "Stand?" Blood trickled down her leg.  
"Dude, you need to see a doctor!"  
"Chill. I just gotta change the bandages. You freak out way too easily." Kaida pulled out a tissue and wiped the blood from her leg. "If you saw someone on the street and they were bleeding wouldn't it be better to stay calm so they don't freak?"  
Kaida and Ekko walked out the door together.

* * *

**Outside the Nurse's office**  
Ekko knew that Kaida would be in there for a while. So she figured she'd go for a walk. She wandered around the school, which was slowly emptying as students wandered off to various after school activities. Ekko was busy admiring a Persimmon tree, when the sound of squealing assaulted her ears. She turned her head to see a group of fan-girls crowding around a senior with silver hair, who, not paying attention, walked straight into her.  
"Sorry-"  
"Quite the fan-group you've got there." Ekko observed.  
"Wha- oh them. They follow me everywhere and give me a headache." The senior sighed.  
"Tell them to go away then." That comment granted Ekko evil glares from the squealing fan-girls, who responded with an unimpressed glance.  
"I've tried but they don't seem listen."  
"Tried the simple 'leave me the hell alone' approach?"  
The senior blinked at Ekko's choice of words, and her blank expression while using them, and took a moment to process what she had said.  
"Uh, no."  
"Try it. I guarantee success. You could also punch them but I don't think you're the type to do that." She said, giving a small smile and raising an eyebrow questioningly.  
The senior gave a nervous chuckle, "Uh yeah. I couldn't hit a girl."  
"EKKO!" The two turned to see the blonde, Kaida running in her direction.  
"You idiot! If you run around you'll just bleed all over the place again!"  
Kaida shoved some of the girls out of the way, grabbed Ekko's arm and started pulling. "We have to get out of here! That nurse guy, is evil! He has this foul smelling-" Kaida continued babbling, tugging on the resisting Ekko's arm the entire time.  
"Ok, ok! Anyway, laters Senpai." Ekko hurried after the hyper blonde, leaving a bewildered senior with a pack of angry fangirls who were picking each other up off the ground, where Kaida had pushed them.

* * *

"Ok, we can stop running, he can't get you here." Ekko stopped in the little hangout spot in the alleyway, behind Port Island Station. "Also we should be heading back, it's getting late."  
Kaida shrugged. "We haven't got anything to report. So there isn't much point in heading back."  
"Uh, we live there?"  
"Meh..."Kaida pulled out her cell. It was almost midnight. With a defeated sigh she turned to leave again.  
"Oh, I heard a rumor. Maybe we could check it out?"  
"Where?" Ekko asked stretching a bit.  
"School."  
"Kai, the school is closed. Plus, we just came from there."  
"Its not like I'm going in the school. I'm pretty sure its outside the school."  
Ekko shrugged. "What was the rumor?"  
"I overheard those three from class discussing something about the school. I think they thought they weren't being listened in on."  
"Eavesdropping is bad."  
"Its our job. We listen, we learn, we report."  
Ekko shook her head. "Right, and you hit some people if they aren't saying what you want to hear."  
Kaida sweat-dropped. "Ehehehe." She chuckled nervously. They were within sight of the school now.  
"What exactly did you hear?"  
"Something about a tower, and midnight."  
Ekko paused. "You do realize what happens to the world at midnight."  
Kaida stopped. "Yeah, that's why I was curious. If they can wander around at midnight, then they must know about 'creeper time'. Also, what's up with saying there's a tower around here?"  
Ekko pulled out her phone. "Midnight."  
At that moment, the world changed. The night took on a greenish hue, the moon casting a creepy green light over the world. Patches of red liquid, suspiciously similar to blood, oozed in places.  
"Hey, Ko-chan."  
"What now."  
"Whats up with the school?"  
Ekko turned around, to see a large tower-like structure where the school had been. "Dude, that's messed up."  
"Think we can go in?"  
"Kai no!"  
It was too late. Kaida was already on her way through the front door.  
"Kai!" Ekko hurried to catch the supposed cripple. "You don't know what this is!"  
"Exactly why we should check it out."  
"It could be illegal!"  
"And?"  
"Kai!"  
"When did you become such a worry wart?"  
"Since Creeper Hour started."  
"And we're in."  
True enough, Kaida had distracted Ekko long enough that she hadn't even realized that they were now standing inside the spacious tower.  
"Ok, what happens if this thing turns back while we're in here?" Ekko said, calming herself down with deep breaths.  
"Uhh, we'll be in school?"  
Ekko smacked her palm against the back of Kaida's head.  
"Ow! Ohh, hey, what's that!"  
"Kai no!"  
Too late, once again. Kaida touched a weird glowy portal-like thing near a staircase and disappeared.  
"Oh my word, you stupid freaking blonde!" Ekko stared wide-eyed, cursing loudly at the spot Kaida had just been.  
"Whoa, now that's not very lady-like! Wait, you're not supposed to be here!" Ekko spun round, fists up to spot the goatee kid she'd met early that day.  
"I don't care."  
"Might I inquire as to why you are here? And how is it possible that you aren't transmogrified?" A fancy looking rich girl with a fancy way of talking addressed Ekko. Ekko identified her as a senior.  
"I'm here because that idiot blonde tricked me and now she's gone and done it. That stupid glowy thing just made her vanish! And what the hell is transmogrified?"  
"Arisato, you, Iori and Takeba go and find her friend. I'll provide backup from here."  
"Uh no. I'm going too."  
"I must advise against such recklessness-"  
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! KAI IS PROBABLY GETTING HER BUTT WHUPPED RIGHT NOW!" Ekko snapped loudly at the red-head.  
"Uhh, ok. I suppose if you can fight it should be alright. Here, you might have need of it." The girl handed Ekko a gun. Ekko eyed it wearily.  
"Thanks, I guess."  
The four of them headed towards the portal thing, and stepped through it. I hope Kai has enough sense to stay put...

* * *

Kaida blinked and found herself standing in a weird room. "Dude, this is some weird stuff. Have I been smoking? I hope not. That stuff smells terrible, it probably tastes just as bad as it smells, and I'm talking to myself. Well done self."  
Kaida wandered around for awhile, before coming across a huge monster that looked like a dude in speedos. Kaida wrinkled her nose at it. _That's just wrong._  
The monster spotted Kaida and with a creepy laugh it lunged at her. Dodging its fast and rather clumsy swings she jumped back until she hit a wall. "Darn."  
It swung at her again, and she ducked down, pushing away from the wall with her feet and sliding under the monster's legs. She got up quickly and sprinted down the hall, and just tried to get away. Thugs she could take on, but she found it was a much smarter plan to run from creepy men in speedos. Especially GIANT creepy men, with creepy laughs, during Creeper Hour, in speedos. She ran headlong into another monster, this one shaped like a beetle. "You have got to be kidding me!" She cried catching its horn and launching herself over it. She felt a painful twinge from her leg, and a quick glance confirmed that her leg was bleeding again.  
"Ekko! Where are youuuuu! You win! I give up!" Kaida stopped in a dead end. She spun around to find a variety of monsters had cornered her.  
"Oh no! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die-NO! GET AWAY! I'LL KNOCK YOUR BLOCK OFF!"

Ekko hurried after the blue-haired leader, keeping up better than the other two. She could, however, already feel this place draining her energy.  
"I detect a large concentration of shadows gathering on the floor above you. There also seems to be a human up there. Hurry, I believe this is the person you spoke of."  
"How many other freaking people could be here? Of course its Kai! Stupid blonde-" Ekko continued to mutter many other curses under her breathe. If the monsters here didn't kill her, Ekko would. They sprinted up the stairs, and following the senior girl's directions, came across the group of monsters. The could just spot the blonde girl pressed against the wall. Kaida had a vaguely panicked, yet pissed expression as she pressed herself against the wall, clearly getting more and more worked up. Before anyone could move, one of the monsters lunged at Kaida, and with the sound of a massive window shattering, a monster, shaped like a fox, appeared beside Kaida. It caught the other monster and threw it back at the group, taking out a few others in the process. It flicked one of its tails and fire burst in the group. Kaida was charging the group now, punching some of the monsters hard, dodging a few blows, as she danced between their attacks. One got a stab at her, cutting her cheek, another punching her hard in the gut. Kaida coughed, and staggered slightly. The fox monster vanished, and the other monsters began to close in on Kaida.  
"NO! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO KILL HER!" Ekko charged at the monsters herself.  
_I am thou._  
Ekko punched a monster, then with some martial arts, managed to get the monsters off Kaida. She was breathing heavily and seemed to be favoring her leg and ribs, but seemed otherwise alright.  
_Thou art I. Call me, and I will answer..._  
Ekko snapped her fingers in front of Kaida's face, hoping to keep the girl focused, and a massive bat-like creature appeared and crushed a few monsters, with a glass shattering noise echoing around her. A few new monsters appeared and seemed to be helping the bat-like creature. When it was over, the bat-like creature hovered in front of Ekko. It stared at her for a moment then disappeared.  
"Whoa. You can summon your persona without an Evoker? That is awesome." Junpei said, awe written on his face.  
"Perso– " Ekko swayed for a moment. She was waaaaay tired now. She shot Kaida a glance. "Are you... ok?" She asked between breaths.  
Kaida nodded, vaguely. She was breathing heavily, and Ekko couldn't tell if it was exhaustion, adrenaline, damaged ribs, or a combination of all or some.  
"Then lets get outta here. I'm already sick of this place."  
Kaida nodded again and limped with them.

* * *

"Ahh, thank goodness you were able to retrieve her-" The senior girl cut herself off upon seeing the state the blonde girl was in. "Sacre bleu! What happened to you?"  
Kaida's uniform was messy, bloody and her normally messy hair was messier than usual. The cut on her cheek had a thin line of blood trailing down to her chin. She clearly looked like she had gone through hell and back.  
"Those stupid buttwipes ruined my boots." Kaida commented to Ekko, ignoring the senior girl.  
Ekko glared at Kaida, "Your own fault for not listening."  
Kaida shrugged, "Whatever, I'll have to see if they can be saved."  
Ekko shook her head.  
"Hey Senpai, these two can summon personas." The pink cardigan girl, Yukari, said pushing past them, receiving dirty looks from both girls.  
"Ah, this is interesting indeed. If I might, what are your names?"  
"Ekko Shiratake."  
"Kaida Matsumoto, who's asking?" Ekko noticed Kaida swaying slightly, her eyes slipping between focused and otherwise.  
The senior chuckled, "I am Mitsuru Kirijo. Perhaps if possible I might contact the two of you tomorrow? I could explain anything that you might have questions about, concerning everything you have seen tonight."  
Ekko was about to say something, when Kaida fell over, the blue-haired boy catching her as she did so. "Kai!"  
"Oh my gosh is she ok?!" Yukari rushed over.  
"Obviously, falling over always means you're alright!" Ekko shoved her aside and checked Kaida's pulse. "Damn, it's worn off."  
"What?"  
"The adrenaline has worn off and her heart rate has dropped too far." Ekko spoke slowly, as if explaining something basic to a child.  
"We must get her to the hospital immediately then. Arisato, can you carry her for me? Iori, Takeba make sure Shiratake doesn't collapse herself."  
"Gotcha." Ekko shot Junpei a warning glance before allowing him to support her. She _was_ exhausted.


	3. Chapter 2

**26/4/2009**  
"NEVER, scare me like that again."  
Kaida looked over her bowl at Ekko who was sitting next to her bed.  
"Whatcha mean?" Kaida said between mouthfuls.  
"I _mean_, don't go and fall over like you did last night! You almost died!"  
"But I didn't." Kaida said, pointing with her spoon to emphasis her point.  
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Shiratake on this one." The senior girl from last night came in followed by a silver haired boy that Ekko recognized from the previous day.  
"Who asked you?"  
Ekko punched her shoulder. "Show respect. And thank you Senpai."  
"Oh whoops, sorry." Kaida returned to her ravenous attack of the bowl in front of her.  
"Its quite alright. I understand that both of you are capable of summoning a persona without the aid of an Evoker."  
"Maphdfgue?"  
"Kai don't talk with your mouth full."  
Kaida swallowed. "Sorry. A what?" she repeated.  
"An Evoker." The silver haired boy pulled out a gun to show her.  
"LOOK OUT HE'S GOT A GUN!" Kaida threw her pillow at him, which hit him in the face. When it fell to the ground, Kaida glowered at him over her bowl. Ekko snorted at the silver-haired boy's expression of surprise, to which the senior girl was also attempting to stifle a giggle, having only a shadow of a smile on her face.  
"That is an Evoker." The girl managed to get out eventually. "Its what we use to call out our personas."  
"What, you point it at monsters and they die? Like ANY normal gun does?"  
"No, we use it like this." The silver-haired boy demonstrated by pointing the gun at his head. "When we pull the trigger, it summons our Personas, a being that aids us in battle."  
"You shoot yourself in the head?" Kaida looked at him like he had a second head. "Are you like a crazy person?"  
Ekko grinned and shook her head. "Aside from the odd choice of summoning, a persona is...? Like Camazotz? The big bat that appeared and then stared at me?"  
"Yes. I understand that there was Camazotz, and a Kitsune appeared." Mitsuru pointed out.  
"Kurama." Kaida corrected. "But I guess he _is_ sorta a kitsune."  
"That's good. I was hoping that you would join our team, and contribute the power of your personas." The girl said.  
"Hold up. Do I know you? I almost die in some screwed up tower, and suddenly you want us on a team?" Kaida said, pointing at the senior with her chopsticks.  
The girl sighed. "I introduced myself last night."  
"In case you hadn't noticed, I was busy fainting." Kaida quipped.  
"I am Mitsuru Kirijo, and my companion here is Akihiko Sanada."  
"Names are pretty but useless."  
"Kai."  
Kaida stuck her tongue out at Ekko.  
Ekko pinched her nose then turned to them. "Kai's right. We barely know you. Why would we join you?"  
"I believe we can provide information on everything that has occurred, such as the Dark Hour, -"  
"Creeper Hour?"  
"Shh Kai."  
"-Shadows and Personas. It is also better to fight in groups than on your own." Mitsuru finished. "We can provide lodging and food at our dorm. That way, if we need to mobilize quickly-"  
"SOLD!" Kaida shouted, slamming her now empty bowl on the table, pushing it away and throwing her covers off. When the covers hit the floor she was standing next her bed pulling on her jacket.  
Ekko chuckled. "Fine. You make a good point. We can't do this on our own."  
"Didn't you break some ribs last night?" Akihiko asked, faint jealousy coloring his words.  
"Probably."  
"And-?"  
"Doctor said she was fine." Ekko said, standing up. "The only thing that he was concerned about was the loss of blood and her heart rate."  
"Very well then. I'll make the arrangements with your family-"  
"No need." Ekko cut in. "I'll contact them and let them know the change of plans."  
"Ahh... I see. Very well, we'll see you later then." Mitsuru said uncertainly.  
Kaida paused at the door. "What day is it?"  
"Sunday morning." Akihiko informed her.  
"Brilliant! Wuck is having a special. Come on Ko-chan, I'm starving!"  
"You just had breakfast!" Ekko shouted in disbelief as they left the hospital. Akihiko and Mitsuru exchanged a glance. Things would certainly be more lively with those two around.

**Kaida's POV:**  
Kaida wandered aimlessly around Iwatodai. Somehow, she had become separated from Ekko. Again. Sighing she dropped into a seat. She appeared to have made her way to a shrine. Kaida sighed and stared at random people as they passed.  
"Kaida-chan?"  
Kaida looked up to see a bored looking teenage boy standing in front of her.  
"Minato-kun!" Kaida jumped up and grabbed his arm. "Can you help me? I seem to have lost Ko-chan."  
"Eh?" He looked surprised and confused at the sudden contact, but didn't pull away. "Uh, sure. Where were you heading? And how did you lose _Ekko_-chan?"  
"I think we were going to the dorms. Oh that reminds me! Guess what!" Kaida bounced on her heels excitedly, talking rapidly.  
"Wait, slow down! What are you talking about?"  
"Remember how you guys helped us out that night I ended up in hospital?"  
"Yes." Minato replied slowly, as if speaking slowly would encourage Kaida to slow down.  
"Well, some people came and told us a bunch of stuff about some dark hour and Tartarus and personas and stuff."  
"People?" Minato cut in.  
"Uh, the snooty sounding girl with red hair and the awkward guy with the cute smile."  
Minato's expression remained blank for a moment. "Mitsuru-senpai?"  
"I think that was her name. I wasn't paying attention."  
"But you notice Akihiko-senpai has a 'cute' smile?"  
"That's not something you can ignore."  
Minato chuckled, a small smile touching his lips.  
"You have a cute smile too."  
Minato choked suddenly and blushed slightly. "You say what's on your mind don't you?"  
"Ko-chan accuses me of such." Kaida smiled brightly. "Honesty is the best policy."  
"I see."  
"Anyway, me and Ko-chan are moving into the same dorm as you guys."  
"That was your whole point?"  
"Pretty much."  
Minato smiled and shook his head. "You are weird."  
"Says the guy who shoots himself in the head."  
"Fair enough." Minato indicated that Kaida follow him and they headed off towards the dorms.

**Ekko's POV:**  
Ekko sighed and shook her head. "That girl." She grunted. "Sometimes I swear her attention span is shorter than a goldfish's." Sighing she shrugged and flopped down onto a couch.  
"Minato-kun hasn't returned yet has he?" Yukari asked as she entered the room.  
"No." Ekko said simply. Kaida had missed the discussion with the Chairman. She probably did it on purpose too. Then again, he did pretty much tell them a lot of stuff they already knew, stuff Mitsuru and Akihiko had already told them, and then asked if they would join the team. Kaida would've said a bunch of sarcastic comments anyway, better she didn't turn up.  
"Where's Kaida-chan?" Junpei asked, sounding a little too eager in Ekko's opinion.  
"She's probably stuffing her face somewhere." Ekko said with a yawn. She paused, as if thinking then shook her head. "Or fighting. She better not be fighting." Ekko stood and started heading for the stairs. "I haven't quite recovered yet. I think I'll sleep today. Let me know if we do anything."  
"Gotcha." Junpei said winking. Ekko glared at him and headed off to her room.


	4. Chapter 3

**5/1:**  
"FYI, Akihiko-san's at the hospital getting a checkup." Junpei walked over to the group. Kaida was sitting on Minato's desk, with Yukari and Ekko leaning on nearby desks. "He called me earlier, and asked me to bring him something. Yup, he knows who to count on."  
"He only asked you cuz you don't have anything else to do after school." Yukari responded. Minato and Ekko smirked at that and Kaida giggled.  
"H-Hey, I resent that." Junpei answered.  
Yuakri giggled. "I'm just kidding. So, what'd he want you to bring?"  
"The class roster for 2-E."  
"That guy is weird. Why would he want the class roster for 2-E?" Kaida wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Seriously."  
"Well, I don't have practice today, so I'll go with you." Yukari said, standing up. "You guys are coming too right?"  
Ekko shook her head. "Me and Minato need to go to the Student Council Room. We promised Mitsuru-senpai."  
"I got nothing on either." Kaida said. "So I'll go with you guys."  
"Cool." Yukari said.  
"W-Wait a minute..." Junpei looked defensive.  
"What? Is there a problem?" Yukari rounded on Junpei.  
"Well, it was ME he asked..." Junpei said meekly. The three headed out, with Kaida chuckling all the way out of the school grounds.

* * *

When they found the hospital room that Akihiko was supposed to be in, they instead found a tall and unfamiliar guy sitting there. Kaida was fighting a snack machine just outside.  
"Um... Is... Akihiko-senpai...?" Junpei started hesitantly. The young man scowled at him.  
"...In this room? By any chance?" Kaida walked into Yukari, chocolate bar in hand.  
"Ow... Hey!" She snapped quietly at Yukari.  
"Sorry." She whispered back. The sound of footsteps had them turn to see who was coming.  
"What are all of you guys doing here?" Akihiko entered and stopped by the doorway, when he noticed the crowd waiting for him.  
"Came to see ya." Kaida said, giving him a crooked smile.  
"I'm just here for a checkup." Akihiko smiled back.  
"Is that it, Aki?" The young man's voice sounded gruff.  
"Yeah, thanks."  
"Tch... I don't have time for this." The young man got up and pushed past Yukari and Junpei, but Kaida wouldn't budge. "You..." He looked directly at her.  
"Yo." Kaida smiled and gave a small salute.  
"Never mind..." He said gruffly, passing her. Kaida stared after him.  
"Weird." She said as he disappeared.  
"W-Who was that?" Junpei asked once the guy was gone.  
"A friend from school... sort of." Akihiko began explaining to Junpei the reason for the young man's visit.  
"Kaida-chan, did you know him from somewhere?" Yukari asked in a hushed tone.  
"Nah." Kaida resumed chowing her snack. "Wait." She frowned slightly in thought. "Oh yeah... He shouted at me when I injured my leg."  
"He shouted at you?" Yukari gave Kaida an incredulous look.  
"Uhh... yeah?" Kaida said shrugging slightly. Yukari continued to stare at her before grinning slightly and shaking her head.  
"Hey Junpei, did you bring what I asked?" Akihiko turned to face the capped teen.  
"Of course, Senpai." Junpei handed the roster over, looking extremely proud of himself.  
"Sorry for the trouble. Well then, let's get going!"  
"Uh, you shouldn't move your arm..." Junpei said in a worried tone as Akihiko began swinging his arm around.  
"It's nothing." Akihiko said with a shrug. "I've wasted enough time already. I need to get back to my training."  
"By the way, Senpai, why boxing?" Yukari asked.  
"You mean, why did I choose that sport?" Akihiko seemed to think about it for awhile.  
Kaida noticed a drink vending machine, with her favorite drink, and hurried over to get it. After a minute, she returned to find them still chatting.  
"That's an interesting way of looking at it." Junpei seemed to be impressed with whatever Akihiko had said. "Ya know, I'm into games too..."  
"Yeah, VIDEO games." Yukari said sarcastically.  
"Oh, but I like fighting games too." Junpei said with a smile.  
"Seriously? What kind?" Kaida said enthusiastically. On the way back to the dorms, Kai and Junpei discussed different games that they enjoyed playing, much to the amusement of the Senior boy with them.

* * *

**Meanwhile back at school**  
"Everyone, this is Ekko Shiratake and Minato Arisato. They will be joining the Student Council." Mitsuru indicated to the two students.  
"Ekko Shiratake and Minato Arisato, huh?" A smart looking boy eyed them both. "I'm Hidestoshi Odagiri. I supervise the Disciplinary Committee."  
"I'm Chihiro Fushimi, the Treasurer." A shy looking brunette with glasses gave a short polite bow. Ekko responded with a small dip of her head.  
"I'm a sophomore, and um... I'm still learning the ropes, so... please be patient with me Ekko-san, Minato-san." Her cheeks turned pink as she spoke to them both. Ekko and Minato exchanged a brief glance. Ekko smiled warmly at the girl.  
"No worries. Nice to meet you all."  
Minato gave a vague "nice to meet you all" but otherwise was completely silent. Ekko could feel eyes on her, and noticed Hidetoshi sizing her up. A small crooked grin on his lips. Ekko raised an eyebrow, giving him a questioning look.  
"You must both be talented for the President to hand pick you. Nice to meet you."  
Ekko got the impression that he was interested in learning more about them. She chatted with the other members and got up to speed on everything that needed attention. She chatted with Hidetoshi as well, trying to figure him out as best as possible.  
"Today we'll just do introductions." Mitsuru said authoritively. "It'll be your job to help us, Shiratake, Arisato. From now on, you both have my permission to enter the Student Council Room whenever you need to. That includes after school, too."  
Mitsuru explained when Student Council met, and gave them the basics on what they were expected to do.  
"Got it." Ekko said, confidence in her voice. She thought she saw Hidetoshi smile approvingly from the corner of her eye, but ignored it.  
"Thank you, both of you, for joining us today." Mitsuru smiled warmly to them. Ekko nodded again, and left with Minato back to the dorms.


	5. Chapter 4

**5/8:**

Ekko was sitting in the classroom, sort of dozing off. It was close to the end of lunchtime, so she was pretty sure it would be alright. Just then, someone came into the classroom.

"Ah, there you are Shiratake-san." Ekko looked up to see Ms. Toriumi, Kaida's homeroom teacher, approaching her.

"Something wrong, Ms. Toriumi?"

"No, I just wanted to let you know, that some space has opened up in the committees. Would you like to join the Library Committee?"

Ekko nodded, "Sure, sounds fine."

"Alright, just head over to the Library after school, and introduce yourself."

"Alright..." The teacher left, and Ekko sent Kaida a message, to let her know she would be late home.

* * *

**Meanwhile elsewhere~**

Kaida checked her messages, and sighed.

"What's up?" Minato asked, as he headed towards his Kendo club.

"Ekko's gonna be late. She's gone and joined the Library Committee."

"You should join a club."

"Could I join Kendo?"

"You would probably destroy the guys. Why don't you join Tennis?" Minato suggested. He pointed towards the field where some girls were doing laps.

"You just want to see me in one of those skimpy little skirts." Kaida shot back.

Minato's ears turned pink and he coughed. "I wasn't even thinking about that."

"But you are now." Kaida said, grinning wickedly.

"I'm going to practice now. See you later." Minato said, turning and leaving quickly. Kaida laughed behind him, then wandered over to the Staff Room.

"Yo, I wanna join the tennis team!" She called into the room.

"Show some respect!" One of the teachers hollered. Must be Ekoda.

"Sorry. I would like to join the tennis team. Better?" She responded, chuckling at the teacher's dark look.

"Oh, just follow me." A brunette teacher giggled, indicating Kaida follow her.

"Cool thanks, Miss...?"

"Kanou."

"Cool, thanks Miss Kanou." Kaida grinned.

"So why do you want to join tennis?" The teacher asked conversationally.

"Unknown to many, I'm actually really good at it." Kaida said with a shrug. "Figured I'd pick it up again."

"Fair enough." Miss Kanou chuckled.

* * *

**Library**

Ekko entered the Library, following a teacher, known as Ms Ounishi. The Library had a bunch of students.

"Is everyone here?" Ms Ounishi asked. "Allow me to introduce Ekko Shiratake from class 2-E. She'll be joining the committee."

Ekko gave a friendly bow to the group who responded in kind.

"Alright, if you don't understand anything, or have questions, just ask... Oh, lets see... Hasegawa!" The teacher picked out a rather mature looking girl.

"Yes, Ma'am?" She responded politely. Ekko examined the girl closely, deciding if she liked this girl or not. She wore her uniform neatly, her shoulder length brown hair was clean and well groomed, her brown eyes were dusted with some make-up, and she had some lip gloss that highlighted her lips. She had a very pale but also very kind face. Ekko nodded to herself. This girl seemed alright, if a bit on the innocent side. Ekko could see from her posture, that she was more at ease with adults than others around her age, and that she was also rather naive. _Like Kai, just without the gangsta attitude and fighting spirit._ Ekko thought.

"You're on duty today, correct? Show her the ropes." Ms Ounishi said, before nodding to Ekko then leaving. "Well then, I'll leave the rest to you."

"Understood." The girl said softly, smiling warmly to Ekko, who responded in kind.

"Well then... could you come here so I can explain?"

"Sure." Ekko said, shrugging.

"U-um, Saori-san? Excuse me, but we, um..." A senior girl looked at her feet nervously then back at the mature girl.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice." She said, smiling in a friendly and apologetic manner. "Please feel free to go home. I'll take care of the rest for today."

"We're really sorry. See you later..." The girl backed out with the rest then took off with them, barely hiding a small grin on her face.

Ekko frowned slightly towards the others. _Skipping out? Tch..._

"Oh please don't think the others don't want to welcome you." The girl said, still smiling. "They're all just really busy.

Ekko sweat-dropped. _Really?_

"Um... Let's see, where should I start?" She said thoughtfully. "Oh.. I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet." She bowed apologetically. "I'm Saori Hasegawa."

"Nice to meet you." Ekko said bowing.

"Heh... Don't worry about being so formal. I'm a junior, just like you." She smiled, a flicker of sadness in her eyes that Ekko caught. "You don't have to be so polite to me."

"Alright." Ekko said shrugging.

"Thank you. I'm glad to hear that." She smiled happily to Ekko, who gave a small smile back.

Ekko listened as Saori explained how she was actually two years older than her, and had been studying abroad and taken time off from school. "I'm the oldest student in the school right now. Which is why the upperclassmen all talk politely to me. I really wish they'd stop... but I've pretty much given up about it."

"Heh, no worries there. Kai pretty much talks to anyone the way she wants, and it's kinda rubbed off on me." Ekko said with a grin. "Gets me in alotta shit sometimes. Err... crap sorry."

Saori chuckled softly. "Its alright. I'm glad that you don't feel like you have to treat me like I'm special or anything, especially since we just met."

"Respect is something people need to earn. I'm not gonna start treating anyone special even if they're older." Ekko said, puffing out her chest. "Is what Kaida would say. She's half right."

Saori laughed. "Oh! I was supposed to explain our duties! We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we get a couple of days off before exams."

"It's Friday though..." Ekko said tilting her head to the side.

Saori gave one of those vaguely sad smiles again. "I promised to take over for today's shift."

"Ah..."

"First let's go over checking out books." Saori said, guiding Ekko to the counter. "Each book should have a barcode on the back cover, so..."

Saori went over everything Ekko needed to know and Ekko helped out with the Library duties. When it was time to leave, Ekko said goodbye to Saori and headed back to the dorm.

* * *

**At the Field**  
"So, you have a new teammate!" Miss Kanou said cheerfully, catching the attention of the other girls. "Kaida Matsumoto from class 2-F. You'll look out for her right?"

"Yo!" Kaida said, grinning hugely at the girls. They smiled back, eyes darting amongst each other.

"Hey, nice to meet you!" They said laughing slightly.

_What an energetic bunch..._ Kai thought to herself, grinning. _This was the best idea ever!_

"Who was the leader for your team?" Miss Kanou asked, pushing a lock of hair behind her ears.

A rather keen-looking student stepped forward. "That would be me."

"Alright then, I'll leave the rest to you then. I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here anyway." The teacher giggled girlishly.

"Uh.. Alright..." The girl said, frowning slightly at the teacher as she left.

"I don't really know anything! Tee-hee!" A girl with short hair mimicked Miss Kanou. Kaida snorted softly.

"Haaa! That sounds exactly like her!" A girl with a rather nice tan laughed. "She's too old to try act cute like that."

"C'mon guys! Back to practice!" The keen-looking girl said, shaking her head and smiling slightly. Her long black hair whipped back and forth with the movement. "Kaida-san right? I'm Rio Iwasaki, a junior like you."

"Nice ta meet ya." Kaida said, grinning. "And its Kai. Kaida only if you have to, and NEVER Kaida-san."

Rio laughed. "Good to know, how about Kaida-chan?"

"Fiiinnnneeeee." Kaida said in a mock defeated tone.

"I can already tell things are gonna be interesting with you around, Kaida-chan." The short haired girl said, chuckling. "Name's Ayano Kawatera."

Kaida nodded. "Nice ta meet ya."

"Anyway, I'm the captain for this team, so don't hesitate to ask questions. The others can help too if I'm not available." Rio explained.

Kaida nodded. "When do we meet?"

"Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We don't meet for a few days before the exams, so don't forget."

"Right. Got it." Kaida said, nodding to affirm she understood.

"Alright, we're just gonna do basic exercises today, so come on and join in." Rio said. "Keep up as much as possible."

"The basics again...?" Ayano whined.

"The fundamentals are important! Come on, lets start with running!" Rio sighed.

"Alright..." The club members answered in unison.

"Kaida-chan, you stand in this line." Rio pointed, and Kaida dutifully got in line. "If you start feeling worn out, just keep pushing through it, and you'll get stronger."

"Bring it!" Kaida chuckled.

Rio laughed. "You sound promising."

As they ran, Kaida proved true to her word, and was still keeping pace with Rio while the other girls slowed. After a few laps, they went through a series of muscle exercises. Then came the basic serving drills, and Kaida revealed that she had played tennis in her previous school, and was no newbie to the game. After practice, Kai met with Minato outside the gym.

"Did you wait here all practice?"

"Why would I do that?" Kaida asked, quirking an eyebrow. "For your information, I joined a club."  
"Really?" Minato frowned at her.

"What?"

"You're serious?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"..."

Kaida rolled her eyes. "I decided to take up tennis again."

"Again?"

"I see tennis didn't trip you up."

Minato looked dead ahead, his cheeks a faint pink.

Kaida chuckled. "Aww, come on, lets stop for something to eat!"

"Almost curfew."

"Kill joy." She said, rolling her eyes.

The two chatted as they headed back to the dorms.


End file.
